I have been married 27 yrs to a wonderful, creative and intelligent professional woman, and superb mother. I’m the father of two sons. One is an aspiring actor/director and filmmaker in Hollywood and the other a college student studying computer tech. at Oregon Institute of Technology.

I was born in Quantico Virginia, the son of a career Marine. We moved quite a bit and I sometimes wonder if that isn’t why I love the landscape. Every year or two it was off to a new home in a new state and a completely new environment. When Dad died we moved to the Northwest. For the last 26 years I have been a police officer. I served my fellow citizens in such assignments as SWAT, K9 handler and trainer and as the K9 Supervisor. As a thrill seeking personality, I had a lot of fun, worked with some incredible and brave people and look back with many fond memories. However, as I neared retirement age I decided to leave police work early and concentrate on my love of painting.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Bachelor of Science degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management - University of Oregon.

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I began formal art education at the community college level in the early 1970’s. Art was abandoned in the mid 1970’s out of sheer frustration and a lack of clear direction. I literally threw everything in a closet, or on top of a bonfire, and walked away. I looked for something else to do and through a series of events, landed in police work. It sounded like fun. I’d just gotten married and needed a regular paycheck. I intended on staying in police work for about five years, enjoy the excitement and then go into the ministry. Time flies.

In the early 1990’s I began to paint again. My mother bought me an easel and some old paints at a garage sale. At about the same time my wife and I got involved in a small group at church of artists, writers and actors, and the art bug, dormant but still very much on my mind, took hold. I had wanted to get back to art, but just had not taken the steps. Truthfully, until I’d been a police officer for that long, I had not developed the discipline needed to get where I wanted and intended to go with painting – (acknowledged: it’s a journey not a destination.)

Knowing I could not abandon my career I began looking for education and training by contacting and networking with local artists. I needed a quickly ascending learning curve. I asked if they would teach me to paint. I was told "you learn to paint by painting."

Nothing worthwhile comes easy. So, I began to seriously pursue painting by reading how-to books as well as devouring books by and about painters. When I travel, museums and galleries are the first consideration. Several "self taught" artists, including Winslow Homer and Edgar Payne give inspiration.

So, several years ago I began taking workshops with contemporary painters (listed below) since then I have been privileged to develop a close friendship with Scott Christensen (whom I had previously admired as a painter.) We met in an airport in Salt Lake City. We started talking and almost missed our plane! Since then, we have been on numerous painting trips together and I have been invited to accompany him, and assist in, several of his workshops. His generosity in sharing his beliefs about painting has been instrumental for what I believe to be, the start of the lifelong growth in my ability to translate artistic desire to canvas.

Lane Community College 1973-75 (dates approximate)

Workshops: Tom Browning, Rusty Stecher, Matt Smith, Kevin McPherson , Scott Christensen

Kneeland Gallery – Ketchum, ID

COLLECTIONS:

Varied private collections.

Merrill Lynch Corporation.

Several One Painter shows in Eugene – Opus 5 Gallery

Solo Exhibit - City Club of Eugene,

Two man show painter and sculptor - In the Hall Gallery Eugene, Oregon

Best and Brightest – Scottsdale Artist School 1998

Group show Robert Canaga Gallery Portland, OR August 2000.

Group landscape show Kneeland Gallery – Sun Valley Idaho (Ketchum) Fall 2000

LCMA Fall Art and Book Browse Group Show – 2002

LCMA Fall Art and Book Browse Group Show – 2003

Spring Show – 3 Artist Invitational – Kneeland Gallery - 2004